Hit exactly 100 misprints in a single proof run and it broke something in me

I do my own proofs for small flyer jobs at my shop (dog grooming, but I do my own marketing). Last month I sent a batch of 100 coupons to a local print shop and got them back with every single one showing a weird green tint on the dog photos. Turns out I had saved the file in RGB instead of CMYK, you know, a total rookie mistake. My eyes went straight to the first coupon and I just froze, counting them up one by one on the counter. All 100 were wrong, which felt like a personal record for worst proof ever. The print shop guy said 'your greens are just super vibrant on screen' and I wanted to crawl under the table. Has anyone else ever gotten a whole batch back and just had to laugh at the number?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_wilson783d ago

RGB to CMYK is one of those mistakes that haunts everyone at least once. The greens go from bright and snappy to this murky swamp color and you just stand there hoping the print shop didn't notice. I once proofed a batch of postcards three times and still missed that I had a white text on light blue background for a client's phone number. The whole stack came back with the number blending into the clouds behind it. Makes you want to double check every single file before hitting send again right?

christophermurray3d ago

That line about greens turning into "murky swamp color" hit home hard for me. I've been that guy staring at a proof wondering how my ocean scene became a sewage plant brochure. It's the worst feeling when you've already approved the file and the press is rolling. I swear I check my color settings three times now before sending anything to print, but I still get jumpy every time.